1. Agricultural and Horticultural Enterprises

3. Natural Resources and Environmental Quality

Better landscaping practices are good for Florida! Even though Florida has a lot of water resources, there are also a lot of people and industries sucking from the tap&#8230;and more keep coming. Long story short, Floridians need to conserve clean water so we always have enough affordable water now and into the future. How we [&#8230;]

<figure id="attachment_14681" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14681" style="width: 209px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/IMG_5833.jpg"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class=" wp-image-14681" src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/IMG_5833-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="209" height="279" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14681" class="wp-caption-text">This booklet has concepts side-by-side in English and Spanish  for effective team communication.</figcaption></figure>
Better landscaping practices are good for Florida! Even though Florida has a lot of water resources, there are also a lot of people and industries sucking from the tap&#8230;and more keep coming. Long story short, Floridians need to conserve clean water so we always have enough affordable water now and into the future.
How we landscape makes a difference, and decades of scientific research demonstrates ways to do it better! If we don&#8217;t, drinking water could get a lot more expensive and natural areas could decline. Our tourism based economy circulates around water, and agriculture, the foundation of our economy, needs water to grow the domestic specialty crops that feed America each winter. Let&#8217;s not forget about drinking, cooking, and cleaning, the human stuff we do each day!
Guess what? Good landscaping starts with the basics. No one should expect poorly installed plants to thrive. No amount of pesticides or fertilizers will fix the wrong plant in the wrong place.
<figure id="attachment_14663" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14663" style="width: 186px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/thumbnail_image10.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-14663 " src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/thumbnail_image10-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="186" height="248" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14663" class="wp-caption-text">The palm on the left is severely over-pruned.</figcaption></figure>
So what are the basics of landscaping in Florida and why does it matter?
Did you know that we can use less water and grow nicer lawns just by mowing the grass at the correct height?
Did you know that some trees get planted with a death sentence simply because they were installed too deep?
Did you know it is better not to hack crape myrtles each winter?
Sometimes it is not just about bigger blooms&#8230; our landscapes can mitigate our intensive human activities if we allow them to help! Landscapes are typically more affordable than manmade interventions; they are pretty, and they provide exponential benefits starting with a real calming effect on people in proximity to green space. Ah-mazing!
<h3>Get this pocket-sized, waterproof booklet to learn the basics of landscaping in Florida: <a href="https://ifasbooks.ifas.ufl.edu/p-1791-basics-of-landscaping-in-floridaconceptos-bsicos-de-paisajismo-en-florida.aspx">Basics of Landscaping in Florida/Conceptos Básicos de Paisajismo en Florida</a></h3>
<a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/Cover-Basics-of-Landscaping.png"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-14675 aligncenter" src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/Cover-Basics-of-Landscaping-300x199.png" alt="" width="353" height="234" /></a>Trust me or ask more questions! While there are not laws that cover landscape basics, there are reasons certain practices are the &#8220;best practices.&#8221;
Decades of scientific research have demonstrated that mowing the grass at the correct height corresponds with rooting depth, and deeper roots means more access to water and nutrients, which means your turf can struggle through the dry season without irrigating more than what the utility allows. As long as your irrigation system is calibrated, your dense turf will return with the rainy season.
While crapes can certainly handle a brutal hacking, there are many reasons not to. First, power tools are more dangerous and expensive to operate.
<figure id="attachment_14673" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14673" style="width: 327px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/CRAPE-MURDER.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-14673" src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/CRAPE-MURDER-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="327" height="245" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14673" class="wp-caption-text">The crape myrtles on the right are providing more benefits by mitigating the heat island effect providing shade and CO2 uptake in the city. The hacked crapes on the left are not provided that same opportunity to help cool the city 🙁</figcaption></figure>
Next, we have a heat issue that is solved with shade solutions. Crape myrtles can provide more shade sooner when they are minimally pruned. Shade reduces temperatures locally, which is good for people and cooler roadways. More shade means more leaves, and more leaves means more photosynthesis, which means more air purification, which means more carbon dioxide uptake. Finally, removing larger limbs to be driven to the dump to decompose into eventual carbon dioxide contributes to more labor, road degradation, and ultimately, climate change. Maybe more than anything, increasing worker safety and reducing maintenance costs of cutting and driving heavy wood to the dump is compelling enough to reduce the crape murder. Society pays the price elsewhere with road repairs due to heavier trucks, heat being the deadliest natural disaster, and the cost of electricity increasing, so that even with AC, we are paying for the oppressive heat.
We have a lot of pavement to deal with. Green spaces mitigate flooding and trees provide cooling shade. As we grow our populations and communities, we must also grow plants.<a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/BLOG-24.06-Spring-water-and-green-land-scaled.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-14659 alignright" src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/BLOG-24.06-Spring-water-and-green-land-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="326" height="217" /></a>
Florida friends, let&#8217;s protect this paradise so we all can keep thriving! As we get 1000 new Floridians per day, let&#8217;s also make sure our new neighbors know how to protect paradise, too. Focus on the basic best practices before we get stuck with the bill for pricier manmade solutions that are not as pretty as plants.
This booklet will benefit almost anyone in Florida working with landscapes in any capacity including landscape professionals, residents, parks departments, community planners, land developers, big box stores selling plants, nursery growers, and environmental departments working to maintain water quality standards. This booklet can also help community leaders and elected officials learn basic ways that plants can help mitigate community problems&#8230; if we let them!
Thank you to the team of UF/IFAS Extension authors and contributors from UF/IFAS, UGA and NC State! Thank you to the USDA NIFA IPM Extension Grant that funded the project. Thanks to the scientists doing research decades before us, and our Deans and Directors that support us. Thank you to the UF/IFAS Bookstore and Communications team. Thank you Orange, Seminole, and Alachua County Governments for supporting Extension education.
Thank you, the Floridians, for getting educated about keeping our green and blue spaces dazzling!
&#8220;Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.&#8221; ~George Washington Carver
<a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/Authors.png"> 
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-14699 aligncenter" src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/files/2024/06/Authors-300x200.png" alt="" width="416" height="277" /></a>

This booklet has concepts side-by-side in English and Spanish  for effective team communication.
Better landscaping practices are good for Florida! Even though Florida has a lot of water resources, there are also a lot of people and industries sucking from the tap…and more keep coming. Long story short, Floridians need to conserve clean water so we always have enough affordable water now and into the future.
How we landscape makes a difference, and decades of scientific research demonstrates ways to do it better! If we don’t, drinking water could get a lot more expensive and natural areas could decline. Our tourism based economy circulates around water, and agriculture, the foundation of our economy, needs water to grow the domestic specialty crops that feed America each winter. Let’s not forget about drinking, cooking, and cleaning, the human stuff we do each day!
Guess what? Good landscaping starts with the basics. No one should expect poorly installed plants to thrive. No amount of pesticides or fertilizers will fix the wrong plant in the wrong place.
The palm on the left is severely over-pruned.
So what are the basics of landscaping in Florida and why does it matter?
Did you know that we can use less water and grow nicer lawns just by mowing the grass at the correct height?
Did you know that some trees get planted with a death sentence simply because they were installed too deep?
Did you know it is better not to hack crape myrtles each winter?
Sometimes it is not just about bigger blooms… our landscapes can mitigate our intensive human activities if we allow them to help! Landscapes are typically more affordable than manmade interventions; they are pretty, and they provide exponential benefits starting with a real calming effect on people in proximity to green space. Ah-mazing!
Get this pocket-sized, waterproof booklet to learn the basics of landscaping in Florida: Basics of Landscaping in Florida/Conceptos Básicos de Paisajismo en Florida
Trust me or ask more questions! While there are not laws that cover landscape basics, there are reasons certain practices are the “best practices.”
Decades of scientific research have demonstrated that mowing the grass at the correct height corresponds with rooting depth, and deeper roots means more access to water and nutrients, which means your turf can struggle through the dry season without irrigating more than what the utility allows. As long as your irrigation system is calibrated, your dense turf will return with the rainy season.
While crapes can certainly handle a brutal hacking, there are many reasons not to. First, power tools are more dangerous and expensive to operate.
The crape myrtles on the right are providing more benefits by mitigating the heat island effect providing shade and CO2 uptake in the city. The hacked crapes on the left are not provided that same opportunity to help cool the city 🙁
Next, we have a heat issue that is solved with shade solutions. Crape myrtles can provide more shade sooner when they are minimally pruned. Shade reduces temperatures locally, which is good for people and cooler roadways. More shade means more leaves, and more leaves means more photosynthesis, which means more air purification, which means more carbon dioxide uptake. Finally, removing larger limbs to be driven to the dump to decompose into eventual carbon dioxide contributes to more labor, road degradation, and ultimately, climate change. Maybe more than anything, increasing worker safety and reducing maintenance costs of cutting and driving heavy wood to the dump is compelling enough to reduce the crape murder. Society pays the price elsewhere with road repairs due to heavier trucks, heat being the deadliest natural disaster, and the cost of electricity increasing, so that even with AC, we are paying for the oppressive heat.
We have a lot of pavement to deal with. Green spaces mitigate flooding and trees provide cooling shade. As we grow our populations and communities, we must also grow plants.
Florida friends, let’s protect this paradise so we all can keep thriving! As we get 1000 new Floridians per day, let’s also make sure our new neighbors know how to protect paradise, too. Focus on the basic best practices before we get stuck with the bill for pricier manmade solutions that are not as pretty as plants.
This booklet will benefit almost anyone in Florida working with landscapes in any capacity including landscape professionals, residents, parks departments, community planners, land developers, big box stores selling plants, nursery growers, and environmental departments working to maintain water quality standards. This booklet can also help community leaders and elected officials learn basic ways that plants can help mitigate community problems… if we let them!
Thank you to the team of UF/IFAS Extension authors and contributors from UF/IFAS, UGA and NC State! Thank you to the USDA NIFA IPM Extension Grant that funded the project. Thanks to the scientists doing research decades before us, and our Deans and Directors that support us. Thank you to the UF/IFAS Bookstore and Communications team. Thank you Orange, Seminole, and Alachua County Governments for supporting Extension education.
Thank you, the Floridians, for getting educated about keeping our green and blue spaces dazzling!
“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” ~George Washington Carver

Better landscaping practices are good for Florida! Even though Florida has a lot of water resources, there are also a lot of people and industries sucking from the tap…and more keep coming. Long story short, Floridians need to conserve clean water so we always have enough affordable water now and into the future. How we […]

Basics of Landscaping in Florida–Bilingual Booklet in the UF/IFAS Bookstore

Each year, the Florida Forest Service authorizes about 88,000 prescribed burns by landowners and public agencies on more than 2.1 million acres of land. Objectives include promoting healthy regeneration of vegetation, controlling disease among native plants and preventing wildfire. But prescribed burning is becoming an increasingly more challenging method of managing forested land for many [&#8230;]

Each year, the Florida Forest Service authorizes about 88,000 prescribed burns by landowners and public agencies on more than 2.1 million acres of land. Objectives include promoting healthy regeneration of vegetation, controlling disease among native plants and preventing wildfire. 
<figure id="attachment_43363" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43363" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-43363 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="tree felling" width="300" height="200" data-src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/files/2024/03/TreeRemoval-008-300x200.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-43363" class="wp-caption-text">John McUmber using a chainsaw to cut down a dead tree at Ordway-Swisher Biological Station in November. Courtesy of UF/IFAS</figcaption></figure>
But prescribed burning is becoming an increasingly more challenging method of managing forested land for many reasons, among them a rapidly expanding population narrowing the state’s wildland-urban interface. Aware of the obstacles both private individuals and public agencies often face, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers recently set out to review and share surrogate treatments in a new <a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FR474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ask IFAS document</a>.
“We’re not saying, ‘These are better alternatives,’” said <a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/experts/mandreu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Andreu</a>, associate professor in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences. “We’re advocates for using prescribed fire when and where possible. When it’s not possible, land managers need options, because they can’t just do nothing. So, what else can they do?”
The researchers’ review outlines mechanical treatments such as mowing/mulching, timber harvesting, hand felling and roller/drum chopping, which involves pulling a weighted drum with steel blades over the ground. All of these methods alter landscape by rearranging vegetation or fuels. Herbicidal treatments target woody and herbaceous plants that create shade and reduce diversity when not kept in check by fire. And grazing employs four-legged laborers munching their way through forests.
So which option is most feasible?
<figure id="attachment_43365" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43365" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-43365 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="cattle" width="300" height="200" data-src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/files/2024/03/Cattle-017928-300x200.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-43365" class="wp-caption-text">A cow grazing in Ona, Florida. Courtesy of UF/IFAS</figcaption></figure>
“It depends on the conditions,” Andreu said. “It depends on the objectives, and it depends on how deep your pockets are.”
While “these surrogates tend to produce more consistent, predictable results at a significantly lower liability” than burning, they all possess drawbacks, according to the review. Mechanical methods are more costly than burning, require dry conditions and some can cause erosion. Herbicidal methods generally require application precision, can be expensive, and some chemicals possess the propensity to drift into unintended areas. Grazing requires the installation of infrastructure like fences, and animals may be susceptible to poisonous plants.
Currently, land managers unable to burn rely on a variety of — or a combination of — these other methods, though grazing is probably the least popular because managers seem to associate cows and goats with ranching rather than fire prevention, Andreu said.
“Through this review, we tried to let you, the landowner, make the decision and gave you a sense of what’s out there,” he said.
&nbsp;

Each year, the Florida Forest Service authorizes about 88,000 prescribed burns by landowners and public agencies on more than 2.1 million acres of land. Objectives include promoting healthy regeneration of vegetation, controlling disease among native plants and preventing wildfire. 
John McUmber using a chainsaw to cut down a dead tree at Ordway-Swisher Biological Station in November. Courtesy of UF/IFAS
But prescribed burning is becoming an increasingly more challenging method of managing forested land for many reasons, among them a rapidly expanding population narrowing the state’s wildland-urban interface. Aware of the obstacles both private individuals and public agencies often face, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers recently set out to review and share surrogate treatments in a new Ask IFAS document.
“We’re not saying, ‘These are better alternatives,’” said Michael Andreu, associate professor in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences. “We’re advocates for using prescribed fire when and where possible. When it’s not possible, land managers need options, because they can’t just do nothing. So, what else can they do?”
The researchers’ review outlines mechanical treatments such as mowing/mulching, timber harvesting, hand felling and roller/drum chopping, which involves pulling a weighted drum with steel blades over the ground. All of these methods alter landscape by rearranging vegetation or fuels. Herbicidal treatments target woody and herbaceous plants that create shade and reduce diversity when not kept in check by fire. And grazing employs four-legged laborers munching their way through forests.
So which option is most feasible?
A cow grazing in Ona, Florida. Courtesy of UF/IFAS
“It depends on the conditions,” Andreu said. “It depends on the objectives, and it depends on how deep your pockets are.”
While “these surrogates tend to produce more consistent, predictable results at a significantly lower liability” than burning, they all possess drawbacks, according to the review. Mechanical methods are more costly than burning, require dry conditions and some can cause erosion. Herbicidal methods generally require application precision, can be expensive, and some chemicals possess the propensity to drift into unintended areas. Grazing requires the installation of infrastructure like fences, and animals may be susceptible to poisonous plants.
Currently, land managers unable to burn rely on a variety of — or a combination of — these other methods, though grazing is probably the least popular because managers seem to associate cows and goats with ranching rather than fire prevention, Andreu said.
“Through this review, we tried to let you, the landowner, make the decision and gave you a sense of what’s out there,” he said.

Each year, the Florida Forest Service authorizes about 88,000 prescribed burns by landowners and public agencies on more than 2.1 million acres of land. Objectives include promoting healthy regeneration of vegetation, controlling disease among native plants and preventing wildfire. But prescribed burning is becoming an increasingly more challenging method of managing forested land for many […]

UF/IFAS researchers review alternatives to prescribed burning

Need an excuse to not mow your lawn in March? UF/IFAS Extension agents in the Florida Panhandle are asking residents to skip their soon-to-be-weekly outdoor chore until the calendar flips to April. The idea for “No Mow March” is borrowed from “No Mow May,” a concept begun in the United Kingdom that has now spread [&#8230;]

<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-27943 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="No Mow March graphic " width="300" height="300" data-src="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/okaloosaco/files/2023/02/EscambiaCo_No_Mow_March_Print_Graphic_2022-1-300x300.jpg">Need an excuse to not mow your lawn in March? UF/IFAS Extension agents in the Florida Panhandle are asking residents to skip their soon-to-be-weekly outdoor chore until the calendar flips to April. The idea for “No Mow March” is borrowed from “No Mow May,” a concept begun in the United Kingdom that has now spread to northern parts of the United States. <a href="https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2023/02/16/laziness-encouraged-no-mow-march-promotes-pollinators-in-the-panhandle/">Check out this link for a video about “No Mow March” events and the photo contest.</a>
Here is a website with more information on No Mow March. On this site, you&#8217;ll find a link to sign up to be a participant in the No Mow March movement, take time to check out what Okaloosa and other counties are doing by clicking on &#8220;Events&#8221; and see much more about pollinators and Gardening in the Panhandle on this site. 
<a href="https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/escambia/lawn-and-garden/no-mow-march/">https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/escambia/lawn-and-garden/no-mow-march</a>
And help get the word out about No Mow March and encourage others to celebrate pollinators in the Panhandle!

Need an excuse to not mow your lawn in March? UF/IFAS Extension agents in the Florida Panhandle are asking residents to skip their soon-to-be-weekly outdoor chore until the calendar flips to April. The idea for “No Mow March” is borrowed from “No Mow May,” a concept begun in the United Kingdom that has now spread to northern parts of the United States. Check out this link for a video about “No Mow March” events and the photo contest.
Here is a website with more information on No Mow March. On this site, you’ll find a link to sign up to be a participant in the No Mow March movement, take time to check out what Okaloosa and other counties are doing by clicking on “Events” and see much more about pollinators and Gardening in the Panhandle on this site. 
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/escambia/lawn-and-garden/no-mow-march
And help get the word out about No Mow March and encourage others to celebrate pollinators in the Panhandle!

Need an excuse to not mow your lawn in March? UF/IFAS Extension agents in the Florida Panhandle are asking residents to skip their soon-to-be-weekly outdoor chore until the calendar flips to April. The idea for “No Mow March” is borrowed from “No Mow May,” a concept begun in the United Kingdom that has now spread […]

No Mow March Events from UF/IFAS Extension in NW FL

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Basics of Landscaping in Florida–Bilingual Booklet in the UF/IFAS Bookstore

UF/IFAS researchers review alternatives to prescribed burning

No Mow March Events from UF/IFAS Extension in NW FL

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